Out of Africa: Stubbs returned to the pitch from near-fatal accident, leaving a lasting legacy for U of S rugby clubBack to video

Stubbs — a mechanical engineering student at the University of Saskatchewan and elite rugby athlete from Zimbabwe — endured a near-fatal motor vehicle crash during the very first day of his summer mining job overseas in Zambia.

That was merely a few months ago, yet Stubbs, who had national youth team experience in his native country, was back on the rugby pitch this fall for the U of S men’s 15s squad.

As a member of the Athletes in Action Christian group, he credits God for looking out for him. In turn, the ever-growing U of S rugby club credits Stubbs as a true godsend to its program these past few years.

“He’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime guy for our club,” says Braydon Goldstein, the longest-serving member of the U of S club.

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“Tom is one of those guys you don’t get around very often. He really pumps up all the guys. He’s inspired guys to play better by his leadership around the field and in the dressing room.

“He’s one of the smaller guys, too, but he plays like he’s 6-foot-5, 280.”

Stubbs, who turns 22 in December, has made an unforgettable impact on the pitch, has little recollection of what he admits was “quite a serious car accident” back in May on his way up to Zambia to work on a mine.

“I was just picking up my truck and, after about six hours after I landed (in Zimbabwe), I managed to have some sort of head-on collision,” he said. “Unfortunately I don’t remember much for around two weeks after the period of time.

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“It resulted in a bit of hospital time, here and there. I’m very blessed to be alive. There’s definitely a man upstairs looking after me — God is great.”

He bears a few souvenirs from the accident. The unabashed Stubbs points to his face, which was severely bashed.

“As you can see, my nose is pretty much torn off,” he noted, matter-of-factly. “I lost all my teeth in the front. You can see all the stitches here and my tongue was completely cut up. I got a skin graft on the eyelid along with all the other scars. My head was split open. I damaged my knee and my ankle a little bit; nothing seriously, just ligaments damaged. My arm, you’ll see a massive scar where they put a steel plate in my arm that went through the door.”

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Stubbs has worn an arm guard for rugby play since the crash.

“It’s pretty tender,” he said. “If I didn’t have to, I’d definitely be leading with my arm and steel plate when I’m going into (action).”

“And it’s been about two to three months of recovery back home (in Zimbabwe). I couldn’t work, unfortunately, but it was a blessing in disguise that I could spend time with the family back home, which I hadn’t done for a long time, obviously, being here (in Canada).”

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At first, he had some jitters returning to the rugby pitch, but he didn’t want to miss out on the inaugural season for the U of S club in the 15s league.

“I was nervous playing rugby (again) but I also saw rugby as something I wanted to get back into,” he said. “It was a big year for the club. For the three years building up to this year, this was the year we were going to make it to the 15s after playing 7s.

“Heck, I’m not getting left out of that.”

He played some games at the beginning of the season and, in his words, it “went well.”

“I wasn’t as strong as I wanted to be,” Stubbs recalled, “but I managed to keep my game and it didn’t hinder me. Unfortunately in Calgary, I got a blow to the head and I ended up splitting open my eyebrow again, opened an old scar, and quite a serious concussion, which is a little challenging with school but nothing too serious.

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“I had never noticed concussion symptoms, really — even after the doctors have told me I’ve had a concussion — until now. Now that I’m noticing them; it’s quite serious and I’ve just got to take heed of the situation.”

As the U of S rugby teams move into the 7s season, which concludes in spring, Stubbs remains on the sidelines.

“I’ve been calling it ‘out for good,’ at the moment, with a chance to really look at it again in the new year with the 7s season,” said Stubbs, who will continue to offer his support on the sidelines and as a motivational speaker.

“I definitely suffered quite a head concussion — it’s not the first one. I’ve had more than I’d like to say; if I did tell you, I’d be in trouble.”

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Trouble is what Stubbs has caused for the opposition on the rugby pitch.

He’s been a blessing to the U of S rugby program, said co-coach Mike Sheinin.

“He’s an amazing rugby player who has sure brought a different level to the team,” Sheinin said.

“He’s come with huge, huge passion. He had an experience this summer that probably changed him a bit, but hopefully for the better. He has unbelievable scars to prove it and he was almost bedridden for the whole summer. A near-death experience for sure.

“He was lucky to be alive and nobody could believe that he was able to play and still manage to be able to play at the highest level possible sort of thing. He’s a really, really amazing guy.

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“It’s amazing he was able to play this year.”

OUT OF AFRICA

Stubbs moved to Canada to study at the U of S after finishing high school. He’s set to graduate this April.

He said he’s played “a fair amount” of rugby, which is a winter sport back home, reckoning he started it along with soccer and field hockey when he was around six years old.

Main summer sports in his homeland include swimming, water polo, athletics, cross-country and cricket.

He went to boarding school for 13 years. He played field hockey until I was 16, representing Zimbabwe as a goalkeeper. He also played water polo and “did a bunch of swimming and athletics,” he said.

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In rugby, he represented Zimbabwe internationally at various age levels. He was captain of the Zimbabwe under-13 national team and under-17s. He attended the national team’s training camp for the world under-21 championship before venturing to Canada.

“The growth here in our club has been incredible,” noted Stubbs. “When we first came, you could compare it more to a rec league kind of thing and a couple of us got together with the coaches and said, ‘Hey, let’s make something happen here.’ The growth from then, when we went to nationals my first year, where we got pretty well swept off the table, to last year, when we went back and we were a serious contender, and again this year in 15s as a serious contender, the growth has been incredible. The lads are so committed. I’m very excited to see where the club goes from here.”

Depending on where he lands a job, he will continue to pitch in on the rugby pitch.

“If I end up in Saskatoon, I’ll definitely lend my support and get involved,” he said. “I’d love to get into coaching and help with the fitness training. In saying that, the guys might get worried that I’ll train them too hard.”

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